Book-supporter.



PATENTED FEB. '7, 1905.

L. H. LATIMEE.

BOOK SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1904.

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LElYlS H. LATIMER, OF FLUSHING, NElV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF PatentedFebruary '7, 1905.

NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TO EDIVARD CALDIVELL, ()F PLAIN FIELD, NElV JERSEY.

BOOK-SUPPORTER- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.781,890, dated February '7, 1905.

Application filed June 3, 1904. Serial No. 210,930.

I (til [rim/1t it nu/y concern.-

Be it known that I, Lewis H. LA'IDIER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Flushing, county of Queens, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Supporters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The need of some convenient supporter for books arranged upon theshelves of ordinary bookcases is well known. If a given set of booksfills a certain shelf, it is difficult to withdraw any selected book,while if the books do not exactly fill the shelf some or all of thebooks tend to tip over more or less at the top, thereby causing one ormore of the books to become distorted in shape by reason of the factthat the weight of the books in their inclined position bears upon oneedge of the cover or binding. Books so placed soon get out of shape andare both unsightly in appearance and difficult to handle.

Various devices have been proposed as book supporters, and the presentinvention relates to a device of this general class. The presentinvention, however, is adapted for use as a support either for the topsor bottoms of books arranged upon a shelf, and this adaptability of thedevice is one of the distinctive features of the present invention.

Another feature is that the book-supporter herein described can easilybe cut and pressed from a single piece of sheet metal, so that it hasthe advantage of being easily constructed and involving small expense.

In the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is aperspective of my device as it appears in the position which it occupiesin supporting the tops or upper ends of a shelf of books. Fig. 2 is asimilar view of the device in the position which it occupies whensupporting the bottoms or lower ends of a shelf of books. Fig. 3 is areduced perspective of the device as it appears in actual use in theposition illustrated in Fig. 1, and Fig. I is a perspective of thedevice as it appears in actual use in the position illustrated in Fig.2.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a piece of sheet metal bent over at oneend so as to form an upright or vertical piece 2 and a horizontal ornearly horizontal piece 3. The parts thus described are adapted to slideover the edge of a shelf, as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. At theopposite end of the piecel a slit is made in the metal and the metalbeyond the slit is first bent upward, the part which remains integralwith the piece 1 being shown at I in Figs. 2 and I. The portion alongthe slit is then bent twice at right angles, one side of the bend beingshown at 5 and the other at 6. The bend is so made that the edge of thepart 6 will be substantially flush with one edge of the piece 1. Theparts l, 5, and 6, however, will appear above the sheet 1 and the edgesof the partsand 6 will form a support against which the bottoms of thebooks may rest when the device is attached, as shown in the second andfourth figures of the drawings. On the other hand, when the device isarranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the tops or upper ends of the bookswill rest against the side 5 and be duly supported thereby.

I prefer to stamp up the book-supporter herein describcdfrom a singlesheet of metal and to provide the sheet in the first instance withrounded corners, as shown. So far as the finished product is concerned,however, I do not wish to confine myself to a book-supporter which isstamped up from a single sheet of metal, nor do I desire to limit myselfto using sheet metal to the exclusion of other material, such as thinpieces of wood built up into the described shape. I prefer, however, thesheet-metal construction, as providing ease of manufacture and as beingotherwise adapted to the purposes of the invention.

It is manifest that the support formed by the parts 4, 5, and 6 may bemade of any desired length, so as to support the books over any desireddistance. For this purpose the slit made across a portion of the sheetwill be cut nearer to or farther away from the end of the sheet which isremote from the parts 2 and 3. For example, if the length of thesupportis to be smaller the slit will be out near the remote end of thepiece 1, whereas if the length of the support is to be considerable theslit will be cut farther away from the said remote end. Moreover, thewidth of the support may be regulated by other means. For example, theoriginal strip of sheet metal need not be symmetrical, but the partbeyond the slit may be longer or shorter than the width of thesheet-metal piece 1. If it is shorter than the normal width of thesheet, then when the portion beyond the slit is bent as described itwill occupy less space as to width than it would if it Were originallyof the same Width as the sheet. On the other hand, if the strip beyondthe slit is longer than the said normal width of the sheet it will Whenbent as described occupy a greater space. In general, however, I stampup the book-supporter from a symmetrical piece of sheet metal, asalready indicated. hen the metal has been formed into the proper shapeor prior to such forming, it may be treated with any paint orcoloringmatter to render it attractive to the eye or it may be leftuncoated at will. As another means of providing variation in the Widthof the support I may mention the fact that a slit across a portion ofthe sheet of metal may be made longer or shorter, as the case may be.IVhen the slit is made of considerable length, reaching nearerto theremote side of the piece 1, a greater proportionate Width may be givento the part 5, thus increasing the width of the support as a whole.

I claim as my invention A sheet-metal book-supporter provided at one endwith means for grasping a shelf, and at the opposite end with a rest forbooks, the said rest being formed by bending a portion of the metal atright angles to the main body of the sheet and afterward bending aportion of the bent-up part twice at right angles until the edge of thebent-up part is brought flush with the edge of the main body of thesheet.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 18th day of May, A. D. 1904:.

LEWVIS H. LATIMER.

Vitnesses:

THos. H. BROWN, WVM. H. CAPEL.

